Personal Development Through Reflective Practice Personal Development Essay

Personal t distrisolelyivelying Through Reflective Practice Personal Development EssayThe encyclopedism machinate was created on the set-back day of the course. Members were chosen at hit-or-miss based on their seating countersink in the room and that dude scarper colleagues could non be part of two root. Our bushel so consisted of six strangers from incompatible backgrounds and organisations. No direction was given about education denounces theory or practice.We met as a separate over a period quadruplet months. Initially we struggled with devising our scholarship rectify wrench. At clocks we wanted to maintain egg social systems. For example in week 3 we tried a self evaluation exercise from a text book (Pedler, Burgoyne, Boydell, 2007).Whilst that was helpful from an individual perspective it did not full clarify what we were meant to achieve via the set or satisfy the eagerness of most members to entrap structures in place.However over a period of duration the pigeonholing has this instant gelled and is less negative about the concept of the attainment set. We be still not fully behaving as a set as defined by theory e.g. we dont always spend time at each get together to discuss specific cuts, often digressing into wider debates (Revans, 1978)As a group we draw a bead on up followed the various stages of Tuckmans classic team festering model. (Alan Chapman/Businessballs.com, 2010). The application of this model is shown in accessory 1Account of education GainsI was initially critical of the attainment set transition, as comparable otherwises, I could not see where it was going beyond being a discourseing shop. N iodinetheless I tush see now that the process has developed me personally. This is not uncommon.for those who crapper persisted with the process (of serve encyclopedism sets) this talk has proved to be a powerful agent of personal and phone line change (Clarke et al, 2006).I grow learnt about my own and others learning styles. My learning style is activist/pragmatist ( extension 2) compared to others in the group who were more in the styles of reflectors/theorists and in that respectof wishing to apply a more rigorous approach earlier engaging in the process. The set has allowed me to reflect on this style and I am now more reflective in my actions. I now consider options before acting whereas before I would almost mention the route to resolving a problem and de boundaryine my actions accordingly.My reflective journal shows that I aro intake become more alert of group participatings and how large keep bug out behave in groups (appendix 3). This in turn has helped me drive changes to my coach-and-fourial style and behaviour in situations at school.It has likewise do me soak up that as a manager you need to be continually reflecting and re-acting to bed with an ever changing world. I scum bag now see that learning can be a social process and that learning is dynamic and affected by social context. Whilst we as a group have only had express mail formal learning set time, what has really been trenchant is the informal time we have had as a learning set and as a cohort with other learners. In that time we have shared our experiences and learnt from each other. I have also developed friendships through and through this process.I am a now also more speculative and challenging of assumptions I whitethorn have held. The academic reading has helped me to do this scarcely so too has having the opportunity to question and be questioned in a safe environment. At times this has been uncomfor add-in and the robustness of keeping a reflective diary has been invaluable in enabling me to see this.A Learning Set Process Review genius of the key issues the set struggled with was not having a facilitator or any formal input to guide us from the onset. This had the potential to make the set a talking shop, which in the beforehand(predicate) days it was. Some timely input was provided but as Revans stated it is by being comrades in rigourousness i.e. having to make sense of the learning set for our MBA that we managed to progress. (Revans, 1978). On balance I would say that having a facilitator to provide the set with a steer and strengthener focus would be something I would change in future(a).Alternatively an opening session on the principles of learning sets would have been helpful, though I appreciate, having been through the process, that this could potentially bias the learning that could be achieved.Bourner et al found that background up set randomly had the potential of creating a group of group of leftovers who did not benefit from the learning set process. (Bourner Weinstein, 1996). This happened in our overall group and did influence my thinking about whether I should move sets but my overall comfortableness with ours and what I had surmised about others clouded my own thoughts around whether I shoul d move sets (appendix 3).We had agreeable attention from members, except for one person who missed the initial sessions as hale as the mining museum event. He after did not return. I would argue that for the process to benefit an individual so s/he must attend regularly so that relationships as well as confidence to question can be create up. Commitment to the process is therefore critical.Time in meetings was also a critical factor. We probably only have had a handful of set meetings where we followed our agreed structure of each member putting forward an issue for debate. As we met only once a week meetings often did not get going and on occasions the time was taken up with other course link up activities. We should have created opportunities to meet outside the set or apply electronic means to communicate.Having muckle who were outside of each others work context helped set members gain views that are independent but also modifyd members to talk frankly without mainten ance of breaching confidentiality or work relate sensitivities. This is a really powerful tool as often managers do not have access to such individuals. However that does require a certain amount of trust between members. This particularly helped me with the issue I brought to the learning set (appendix 3).The process also allowed us to have some thinking time outside of normal day to day work activities, again something that managers dont often find time to do. iodine hour plainly was not enough. I would change the time to at least one and a half hours.KEY SKILLSAbility to build sophisticated relationships with a variety of stakeholders and customers to help meet strategic organisational goalsDynamic postulateership and caution skills to lead and motivate individuals and teams to achieve targets and outcomes subtle negotiating and problem solving skillsExcellent influencing skills with excellent interpersonal and communication skills, both oral and written usance HISTORYDevel opment ManagerChildrens men Development CouncilMay 2008 face upManage a team of 3 module over see England wide youth hands reform projects totaling over 4mMember of trouble team for overall youth workforce reform programme with a total three year reckon of 25mInterim Head of Operations, northernmost of England/East Midlandsequation and Human Rights Commission (EHRC)October 2007 April 2008Managed the setting up of four English neighborhoods for the impudentlyfoundly created EHRCProvided leadership and direction to help each region produce strategic scoping reports mapping the equalities terrain to help inform future readinessRegional Director, normality of England and East MidlandsCommission for Racial equation (CRE)Oct 2006 to Oct 2007 order 4 regional offices with 13 cater based in Manchester, Leeds, Newcastle and Nottingham and ensured very effective functionals relationships with key regional agenciesPrepared, delivered and evaluated the regional business pictur eIntroduced and managed innovative art based projects in Merseyside, western Yorkshire and Middlesbrough respectively to support local level equating voluntary sectorCarried out a fundamental review of equality networks across the northernmost of EnglandDiversity Director, North of England ( warrant)AcasApril 2004 to October 2006Managed Acas equality work for the North of EnglandSpecialist diversity lead on three person Acas team that delivered collaborative working training to the join Nations in New York rightful(a) first ever Acas/North West Development Agency Memorandum of Understanding for work on equality and diversity across the whole North West regionManaged the first ever joint Business in The Community/Acas equality group in March 2006Conceptualised and project managed the first ever Fair conflict Zone with a budget of 200k to provide employers with support, guidance and training on equality and diversityHead of Private Sector, Commission for Racial EqualityOctober 2002 to March 2004Lead the CREs national semiprivate sector team of 12 staff based in multiple locations and a budget of 600kDeveloped and managed the CREs new strategy for working with the private sectorNegotiated sponsorship of 100k from HSBC and Post position Ltd for the CREs Guide to Small to Medium enterprisesOversaw the production of the revised CRE Statutory enroll of Practice in EmploymentDirector, Equality DirectJune 2001 to September 2002successfully set up and managed the first ever national government helpline on equality and diversity for employers.Trained, managed and supported 8 helpline advisersDrafted the Department for Education and Employments 10 point plan for employersVarious positions including Head of Regional Strategy, Head of statutory Action Team, Social Policy Officer, Employment Officer, Commission for Racial EqualityJanuary 1988 to May 2001Successfully project managed quintuplet public education exhibitions be by over 2000 individuals and employers Managed the CREs funding (1m)of Race Equality Councils in the North of England, which included supporting the phylogeny of new organisationsDeveloped in club with the Rugby Football League the first ever campaign to tackle racism in Rugby League- Tackle ItDeputy Supervisor/ Trainer, Dewsbury want FundMarch 1984 to December 1987Supervised a Community class scheme which provided and created training and employment opportunities for over 20 pertinacious term unemployed ethnic minoritiesANALYSIS OF THE CHILDRENS WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT COUNCILIntroductionThe Childrens Workforce Development Council (CWDC) is an England wide executive non-departmental public body set up in 2005 whose vision is to create a world-class workforce for Children, new-fashioned People and Families. It does this in two ways by supporting people working with them have the best possible training, qualifications, support and advice and by share children and young peoples organisations and services to work toge ther better (CWDC, 2010)It receives an annual knuckle under from the governments Department of Children, Schools and Families (DCSF) for distinct projects and core attention costs. Its budget and staffing have seen coarse growth over the last five long time.The organisation is strategically managed by a Board of Directors and procurablely managed by a aged(a) wariness team (SMT) consisting of the Chief Executive and five Directors. The SMT is supported by a elegant planning and realizeance unit (Appendix 4). Each Directorate consists of small teams which are responsible for programmes of work and projects. Woodward refers to these as caper cultivates, namely the base activities related to producing organisational outcomes. Central functions such as IT, Finance and Procurement, Human pick Management referred to by Woodward as element functions i.e. those activities that support the task function sit deep down separate Directorates. (Woodward, as quoted in Mullins, 2007 ).The HQ is in Leeds with a small number of home-based staff. The major(ip)ity of these are elder staff, but also includes singleton regional managers in the nine English regions.Appendix 5 shows how the delivery of programmes for the workforce is managed in spite of appearance one of the directorates. Projects are grouped into programmes consisting of small project teams. Each programme is answerable to a programme control board consisting of key officials from CWDC and its sponsor body, DCSF.Critical AppraisalAppendix 6 provides a SWOT analysis for CWDC. This shows that as a public body it operates in a complex and challenging environment, facing struggleures and demands from a large group of stakeholders/sources.CWDC is an infrastructure body that does not provide direct services to the workforce it serves and is attempting to upskill and reform the workforce to make it more effective in working with children and young people. To achieve this CWDC has put in place a material bespoke electronic project management system into which all projects relate. This has yielded benefits in terms of consistency, floorability and close management of projects. However it is a heavy bureaucratic system which takes up targetificant staff time and has lead to a recovering that the system is driving the organisation.Accountability has become a key driver for CWDC and is influencing its way of delivering its aims. All projects have operative sign off processes including SMT approval. Outward facing activity such as press releases, publications, conference speeches also require sign off at this level. Whilst this is distract as it ensures alignment with organisational strategy, it does create a take a chance averse destination and makes ending making feel longer as well cause managers to feel that they cant make decisions.CWDCs structure is a tall class-conscious one that has evolved as it has grown in size. The SMT have large directorates and righteousness for staff is devolved and within Urwicks span of control is within the optimum number of six. Fayols scalar chain wake the direct line from the top to the tail is clear and well understood across CWDC. Whilst this brings advantages in terms of clear lines of authority and accountability, it can also lead to demotivated and disempowered staff, where staff may feel that they have no say or involvement in decision making.Having a centralised base enables CWDC to ensure that there is a consistent approach to strategy and implementation across the organisation and enables more interaction between directorates. On the whole this is effective but having the majority of its cured staff as home workers and out of the office on a day to day basis can mitigate against this. To avoid this there is a pregnant use of electronic mails and teleconferencing as well as two all staff conferences each year. The excessive use of email is however potentially counterproductive as it can lead to poorer communication, information overload, be a substitute for face to face contact, be used as a control tool thereby creating stress to staff.CWDCs limited regional staff presence also has the potential to create distance between the end user (the workforce) and CWDC. This is however compensated for via strong colligate with representative or employer bodies as well as regional roadshows.A DETAILED ANALYSIS OF THE MANAGERIAL JOB ROLE.Definition of Managerial single-valued functionDespite the fact that the theory on what a manager is or does have developed significantly over the last 100 years ago, it is not easy to define the bureau of a manager.In the early 1900s, F. W. Taylor pioneered the idea of one best way model to manage employees and structure to achieve maximum performance. Taylorism put forward the idea that the role of the manager was different to that of a worker. Around the same time. Henry Fayol identify five key functions of a manger namely planning, organising, co-or dinating, keep in lineing and controlling. These hold true today though arguably the function of commanding has been replaced with motivating staff to achieve. (Stewart,1999)The work of Stewart and Mintzberg several years later took a slightly different approach to the work of the manager. They identified some key aspects such as managers not operating in orderly well organised worlds, managers interacting and managing relationships with rafts of people not just their direct staff, and continually having to work in a fragmented world of variety, at pace and with little supernumerary time. (Stewart 1999,) This is particularly true for me where I find that day to day plans can easily be thrown out of kilter due to unintentional events or circumstances.Mintzberg identified ten roles common to all managers, which he put into three categories as set out below. Mintzberg suggested that a manager had to perform various roles dependent on the particular situation or context. The table ( appendix 7) sets out the groupings alongside examples from my work practiceIn todays world, many of the roles identified by early theorists are relevant, however the world has changed dramatically since then. The significant advances in technology, impact on how managers carry out the informational roles Mintzberg refers to. For example in my experience e-mails, internet and the ships company intranet now play a major role in enabling information to be disseminated without the need for the manager to do so.Today, managers also need to have the right set of gravely and soft skills to manage the complex and ever-changing world, including interpersonal skills.(Mullins 2007).Important issues for the future include managing change, leadership and motivation of staff, managing diversity, the cultivation of human resources..(Mullins 2007)Making available decisionsOn a daily basis I make operational decisions namely those decisions that concern the day to day running of my commonwealth of right (Teale et al, 2003) and those whose impact is immediate on the organisation (Beckford 2001). Such decisions tend to be programmed ones namely those that relate to recurring problems that have occurred often enough to enable a standard response (Daft Marcic, 2009).In my context such decisions include decisions on which supplier to use, use of agency staff, procuring of supplies, recruiting, retaining staff. The factors I take into account, dependent on the context, impart includeexisting organisational policies and practices. This is to ensure consistency as well as compliance to company processes and policieswhether I have all the facts available to me or if I need to restrain further informationbudget availability e.g. when replacing staff, or sanctioning costs for servicesrisk evaluation e.g. considering the risk to the organisation in the decision. Most of these operational decisions will be minimal risk as they fall under my command of control. However on occasions for example terminating a pore may have wider ramifications which may well involve touchation with more senior staffimpact on staff in team e.g. making decisions of staff leave requests and whether cover is availablewhether I need to consult with others to help arrive at the decisionOptions available to the manager for influencing senior managersResearch has identified the immenseness of upward influence as a key factor in the effectiveness of managers (Case, Dosier, Murkison, Keys, 1998). There are a number of options available to do this. Reason or using a logical well prepared and presented argument with supporting data and credentials appears to be an effective one when trying to put a teddy forward (Case, Dosier, Murkison, Keys, 1998 Bhatnagar, 1993). An example of this in my practice is attached at Appendix 8.However there is more to influencing than just having a good argument, construct relationships is extremely important. (Paulson, 1991). A manager will therefore need to con things from their senior managers perspectiveKeep the manager informed to enable them to do their jobBe friendly but keep a pro distancePut forward solutions to problemsSupport the manager but not to the point of being a yes person and express reservations in privateThis last bullet point has some relevance to me. My reflective diary (incident of 14-16/10/09-appendix 3) shows I need to recognise this aspect more and where confiscate challenge my boss.Operational management-level meetingA key to the success of any meeting is preparation (Kendrick, 2004). Appendix 9 shows an example of how this works in my meetings.This particular meeting refers to the contract inception meeting with a asserter for a complex 4m project. As such prior to the meeting I met with one of my team and agreed all the areas to be covered. An agenda is always produced, based on the purpose of the meeting and expected outcomes from it. The agenda is integrated in such a way that it allows time for reviewing action points from preliminary meeting and prioritising the major items for backchat in order of priority. It also includes an item at the end for round of agreed actions. This is to ensure that participants leave the meeting with a clear understanding of the nature of and owner of the agreed actions.A lower taker is critical in key meetings to ensure accurate note taking and enable me to chair and facilitate the meeting. Minutes reflecting the key areas of discussion and action points are always produced within a few days of meeting, so as to ensure completion of actions in advance of the following meeting. Following the meeting a de-brief is held with the note taker to ensure all points have been captured but also to check that the meetings objectives have been realised (Kendrick 2004).Due to the importance of these meeting I chair them. This enables me to ensure control as the contract manager. However my style is participatory and informal to allow full ploughsh are from all participants, as it is in the organisational interest that contractors work together with us to deliver this project.Delegating effectivelyTime is at a amplitude for a manager (Stewart, 1999). Delegation is incumbent to ensure that decisions are do at the lowest level to save organisational cost and free up time for management duties (Mullins 2007). However delegation must not be seen as a reason for merely dumping work onto staff or abdicating managerial responsibilities (Jones, 1979). Not all work, though, can be denominated e.g. supervision, planning, corrective matters which must remain with the manager (Ghazda, 2002).The key to successful delegation lies in having a planned and systematic approach to it (Mullins, 2007). Before determining whether to delegate the manager take to be clear on the task and whether the task is being delegated for results or for employee suppuration (Ghazda, 2002).Assumptions should also not be made about the willingness of the emp loyee to take on the task (McConalogue, 1993). They may be terror-stricken of failure or lack confidence (Jones, 1979). Managers need to be aware of this.The manager should also set clear objectives and identify with the employee what the expected results are (Ghazda, 2002), which should be written down (Jones, 1979). Guidance and support should be provided passim without being too instructive as this will inhibit employee information (Mullins, 2007 Jones, 1979). Employees must be able to feel that authority has been passed on without fear of the manager constantly interfering or checking on them i.e. having the freedom of action within agreed terms (Mullins, 2007). Monitoring of the task is important and should be defined at the onset through agreed milestones (Ghazda, 2002). Manager should also check progress informally and through ongoing supervision.On consideration my practice covers most of the requirements for effective delegation. However I need to do more on formally co nsidering employee willingness to carry out the tasks delegated to them and write down clear objectives as per paras 18-19 above.Mentoring and supporting othersThere are numbers of definitions of mentoring, but one that is interesting is below which highlights that mentoring can be beneficial to both the mentor and mentee.Mentoring is a learning partnership between two people with different levels of experience and with the potential to achieve new learning, new perceptivity and personal growth (Poulsen, 2006)Mentoring uses all types of helping to learn styles i.e. coaching, counselling, guiding and networking (Clutterbuck, 2004). Mentoring can be formal and structured or informal, but for it to succeed it needs to have a structure but operate informally (Clutterbuck, 2004). On reflection, I can say that I have not formally mentored my staff but I believe that at times I have followed the four learning to help styles primarily in a job task completion context. Nor did I realise its potential development benefits for me and staff. A follow up action is for me to informally mentor a member of CWDC staff and this has been incorporated into my Learning and Development Plan (see Appendix 10)PERSONAL DEVELOPMENTTraining and Development HistoryAppendix 11 sets out my personal training and development history.My development has been primarily related to my previous career within the equality industry. In particular my development has been through spending twenty years rising up the ranks at the Commission for Racial Equality (CRE), achieving a high level position managing four regions within England. During that time I also went on secondment twice to enhance my knowledge and experience of working in other organisations.Following closure of the CRE, I became a consultant. This did not last long as I found the lack of uncertainty around work to be unsuitable and I missed the security of working within teams an established organisation. My self analysis using Belbins e ight group roles showing me as a team worker supports this (Appendix 12).I therefore chose to take a lower level job in a new area (workforce reform policy) on the understanding that I would, within 2-3 years, obtain a higher(prenominal) level position within the new company or outside it.Learning and Development PlanMy learning development plan (LDP) at Appendix 10 is based on my work related appraisal (appendix 13), issues arising from my estimate against the CMI standards (para 10 below) as well as the completion of the University of Huddersfields Guide to Reflective Practice Workbook (appendix 14).A key area I would like to focus is developing my own resilience to deal with situations in a more rounded manner. This will require me to be continuously reflect on my behaviours in different contexts. I have found the rigour of using a template for reflection for my learning set particularly useful and have started to extend this to other situations.A significant strength that has b een identified is my competency to develop effective working relationships both within my team and outsidely. Comments from my line manager support thisOne of your strongest competences (working with others). You inspire others to work with you and balance a range of personal and external demands. The learning on your management course is beginning to pay dividends and providing a theoretical background to your personal approach. It is helping you to achieve at the higher levels of this competence (Appendix 13)Reflection on the significance of the MBA programmeThe programme is significant for me for the following reasonsIt will provide me with a qualification to support my 20+ years of management experience, which in turn will lead to new opportunities for progression to a more strategic management position within my existing employer or externallyIt will enable me to engage with original and new management ideas and practices thereby influencing my future practice.I will let on views and perspectives from other managers from other sectorBoth of the above will make me a better manager and leader.I am already benefitting from attendance on the programme. In particular it has helped me identify my strengths as well as areas for development. My knowledge of the theoretical aspects of e.g. managing people is also influencing my approaches to work situations. Attendance on the course has particularly given me the confidence to think differently and if necessary challenge in situations where previously I would not have.Progress in meeting the Chartered Manager standards.Appendices 15-16 provide a self assessment against the Chartered Manager standards using the National Occupational Standards for Management and Leadership. (http//www.management-standards.org).This shows that I meet many of the required standards either in my current role or through previous experience. Areas for improvement areConsistently apply strategic thinkingAdapt leadership style to take ac count of diverse situationsIdentify opportunities for change and developmentEstablish information management and communication systemsManage complexity to positive effectOptimise use of financial and other resourcesDemonstrate resilience on achieving personal goals